Odds & Ends

Police find a man's “stolen” car parked in the same place he left it 20 years ago. Last week, Frankfurt police officers took a 76-year-old man to the Volkswagen Passat he reported stolen in 1997. According to authorities, crews were attempting to demolish a dilapidated industrial building when they discovered the rotting vehicle blocking their progress. According to the Augsberger Allgemein, the car was in the exact place the owner had parked it 20 years ago. It appeared that the car had never been stolen in the first place, but had only been hidden from the owner's view. Frankfurt authorities said the car is unable to be driven and will be destroyed. How the man forgot where he parked has not been explained.

Dateline: Tennessee

A church discussion about guns ends with two attendees being shot. According to police reports, the members of First United Methodist Church were meeting for an early Thanksgiving dinner and began discussing the mass shooting that recently happened in Texas. One of those gathered asked if any of the other attendees had brought a firearm with them that day, and a gentleman reportedly answered that he took his handgun everywhere. He then allegedly produced the weapon, emptied its magazine and chamber, and allowed some of the other members to examine it. When the handgun returned to its owner, he reloaded it and put it back in its holster. Police say that another member of the church approached the man and asked if they could see the gun. When he pulled it out, he was heard by witnesses to say, “With this loaded indicator, I can tell that it’s not loaded.” He then pulled the trigger—seemingly forgetting that he had just reloaded the weapon. The bullet cut the man's palm and entered his wife's abdomen on her left side before exiting her right. The man and his wife—both reportedly in their 80’s—were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with injuries that weren't life-threatening. Police did not file charges against the man.

Dateline: New Zealand

A man was pulled over for practicing bagpipes while driving his car. Last week, a motorist in Dunedin, New Zealand was detained by law enforcement officers at a checkpoint. Acting Sergeant Bryce Johnson reported that the man was playing a “black-type instrument, which looked like a clarinet.” He also said that the driver's fingers were “going a million miles an hour.” The instrument was later identified as a chanter from a set of bagpipes. According to officer Johnson, both of the driver's hands were occupied with the chanter and away from the steering wheel while he was operating the vehicle. The piper was issued a warning. Officer Johnson told the Otago Daily Times that law enforcement was not only concerned about people playing instruments while driving, they were also worried about texting behind the wheel. “Neither of these things are a good idea,” he said.

Dateline: Washington

US Navy officials confirm that an “obscene” sky drawing reported by residents in Washington were made by one of their aircraft. Last week, officials with the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island told local news stations that one of their aircraft was responsible for drawing an image of a penis in the sky using contrails. Numerous residents of Okanogan County, Wash. took photos of the image and posted them to social media almost immediately. In the Navy's statement concerning the incident, officials stated that they hold their aircrews to the “highest standards” and found the case “absolutely unacceptable.” They said the crew responsible will be held accountable. When asked about the incident by local reporters, a representative of the Federal Aviation Administration said that the organization can only intervene if the act poses a safety risk and that they “cannot police morality.”

Dateline: Missouri

A man's interrogation at the hands of police ended when he began answering questions with flatulence. Police in Kansas City, Missouri report that a man under investigation for intent to sell cocaine and illegal possession of three firearms was arrested following his involvement in two different traffic stops. According to police reports, in early September, a backpack owned by Sean A. Sykes Jr. was allegedly discovered to contain drugs and two handguns—one of which had been reported stolen days earlier. Sykes claimed to know nothing about the contraband. Months later, in November, Sykes was pulled over by officers who searched his car and reportedly found cannabis, crack cocaine and a revolver. According to recently released documents detailing the suspect's interview during the first incident, the detective conducting the interview wrote that when asked about his address, Sykes “released a loud fart” before answering. “Mr. Sykes continued to be flatulent and I ended the interview,” wrote the detective in his report. Sykes is currently being held in custody.